NYC-based indie pop duo MS MR (Lizzy Plapinger & Max Hershenow) released debut Secondhand Rapture showcasing their own new-wave style mood pop. The album is a journey through melodramatic lyrics and synth pop effects coming after the release of acclaimed EP Candy Bar Creep Show.
Darkness, love and apocalyptic themes dominate the record. Plapinger prophesises “the world is gonna burn”, while struggling with love as she pleads “why can’t you be what I wanted to see” in ‘Fantasy’. MS MR truly shines when they have simple arrangements instead of being too grand, especially in ‘Dark Doo Wop’.
Plapingers powerful alto features darkly in ‘Fantasy’, ‘Hurricane’, ‘ Dark Woo Wop’, ‘Think of You’ and ‘Head Is Not My Home’. Her multi-talented alto voice is controlled, exciting and feeds the doomsday themes of the album.
Hershenow shines with his utilisation of orchestral influences creating chaotic rhythms. His masterpiece clashes with rolling drums that lay the platform for pianos, horns, strings and harps. The dark atmosphere created in ‘Bones’ and ‘Hurricane’ creates a mysterious sound filled with despair and power, which sets the tone for the rest of the album.
The relationship between voice and instrumental combine dynamically as she feeds Hershenow’s beast to create something melodically powerful.
Wild, dark pop oozes its way across 12 tracks. Each track provides a different feel than the last, highlighted by dark ballads ‘Hurricane’ and ‘Fantasy’, ghostly ‘Bones’ and apocalyptic ‘Dark Doo Wop’.
Secondhand Rapture alters the reality of armageddon as something we should embrace and chant till the end, a truly remarkable debut.
